You are clearly attempting to get in shape, which is excellent! You have to put the time in the gym to get results and if you are not doing that then you will need to increase your efforts. There is, however, one warning you cannot afford to ignore: you must not overtrain.

Overtraining occurs when you work too hard, so that you’re not giving your body the rest and recuperation it needs between weightlifting sessions so that you can repair and beheld the muscle you’re breaking down.

It is essential to realize that when you build up muscle through exercise, it is actually breaking down this same muscle. You’re not building the muscle in the gym, really. Instead, what you’re doing is breaking down muscle in the gym and producing tiny injuries in the muscle then must heal and repair. When these injuries heal and repair, they heal and repair stronger than they were previously. In order to build muscle, you first need to break it down. Once you break down your muscle you need to let your body rest and the muscle repair. In doing this you will find that this is they way you actually build muscle.

Overtraining deprives your body of needed rest and does not allow it to adequately build and repair itself between workouts. In fact, as opposed to destroying muscle, you’re actually building muscle when you notice this. Worse than that, though, you’re actually hurting yourself in a number of other ways, too. Find out about these symptoms to see do you really training to much.

There are steps that you can take, if this is the case, to improve it and get back on track building muscle. You’ll notice that before anything else. Overtraining is an intensity of exercising that often shows results in fatigue. If your workout includes overtraining it is likely that you will notice other symptoms as well.

Letting yourself recover after a workout is necessary so that your testosterone levels do not drop.

As unbelievable as it sounds, you could get chubbyer and bigger. You might gain weight you don’t want to, in the form of fat. In continuing to overtrain, you will in effect be breaking down fat burning muscle without building it back up, as well as increasing your cortisol levels. There is a stress hormone called Cortisol that makes the body want to hold onto and retain the fat that is present, especially in the stomach area.

When you overtrain, your immune system reacts by becoming weaker. That’s because it’s trying to handle that your body is in a state of constant inflammation from damaged, sore muscles. So if you find yourself getting colds and flu more easily, slow down. A good bodybuilding regimen should make you less susceptible to colds and flu, not more so.

Last but not least, this needs to be repeated, that when you overtrain, you will actually lose muscle, not gain it. As this is precisely what you wish to avoid, what you need is a solid bodybuilding routine that will help you develop the muscle you want without the unfortunate symptoms.

The best pattern for bodybuilding is to follow one day of intense weightlifting by one day of resting. You should be giving yourself a day of in between when you are doing heavy lifting three to four days a week. While giving your muscles a break from heavy lifting is important on your rest days, it is advised that you include some light cardio. They need time to recover and to repair. This is what going to help you bulk up in a good way, with muscle.

Even if your body is resting, it cannot repair and replenish itself until it’s got the tools to do so. That means that nutrition is just as important as rest is. You should choose lean potatoes fruits and vegetables, and whole grains over junk food like potato chips. Quality nutritious calories that will charge you and supply your body with strength after training. If you follow this workout, you will begin to see results quite quickly and start to feel much better as well.